Anti-slip device



April 12, 1960 v. TAVORMINA 2,932,096

ANTI-SLIP DEVICE Filed June 8, 1959 [17 V51: far 7 Utmmzo Eavormlna Thepresent invention relates to anti-slip devices, and more particularly toimproved anti-slip devices which are adapted to be worn on shoes orboots to prevent a person from slipping on ice.

Previously available anti-slip devices, commonly known as ice creepers,have ordinarily been worn centrally on shoes beneath the generalvicinity of the balls of the feet. Such ice creepers have proven to beuncomfortable since they tended to give a person a rocking or unstablemovement as he walked. Moreover, since the shoes toes were not providedwith anti-slip protection, the wearer was not adequately protected fromslipping as he walked on ice. A further disadvantage in previouslyavailable ice creepers has been that it was neces sary to frequentlyclean the ice creepers to remove accumulated snow and ice. It theaccumulated snow or ice was not removed, the ice creepers would losetheir ice gripping capability.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideimproved anti-slip devices to be worn on shoes, boots, or such. Anotherobject of the invention is the provision of ice creepers which providecontinuous gripping of ice as the wearer walks. Still another object isthe provision of ice creepers which are selfcleaning. Still a furtherobject is the provision of ice creepers which are inexpensive tomanufacture and are durable in use.

Various other. objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent by reference to the following specification andaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an anti-slip device embodying certainfeatures of the present invention, the device being attached to a shoeshown in dot-dash outline;

Figure 2 is a reduced, fragmentary bottom plan view of the anti-slipdevice shown in Figure 1-;

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 ofFigure 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an anti-slipdevice embodying certain features of the present invention, the shoe towhich the device is attached being shown in dot-dash outline.

Anti-slip devices or ice creepers, in accordance with the presentinvention, are adapted to be worn on the lower surfaces of shoes, boots,or such. Each ice creeper comprises a member curved so as to extendalong at least a portion of the margin of the lower surface of the shoe.The member has a downwardly extending flange at its outer edge, thelower edge of which is serrated. The ice creeper is provided with meansfor bolding the member against the lower surface of the shoe as thewearer walks.-

More specifically, the anti-slip device shown in Figure 1 is adapted tobe worn on a leitshoe. The ice creeper for a right shoe is of oppositehand construction. For purposes of explanation, the ice creeper for aleft shoe is described hereinafter.

s Patent 2,932,096 Patented Apr. 12, 1950 a sole member 10 and a heelmember 12. The sole member 10 is composed of a material which canwithstand the use that a device of this type is subjected to.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sole member is made out of sheetsteel and comprises a generally flat upper portion 14 which bearsagainst the sole of a shoe 15, and a downwardly extending flange portion16 at the outer edge of the flat portion 14. The upper portion 14includes a narrowstrip 18 which is formed in the outline of the sole ofthe shoe, boot, etc., and which is made sufficiently wide to afford acomfortable surface for the wearer to Walk upon. As shown particularlyin Figure 2, the rearward ends of the strip 18 are interconnected by abar 20.

The lower edge of the flange 16 is serrated so as to provide downwardlyextending teeth 22 which grip the ice or snow as the wearer walks. Theplurality of teeth 22 provide the wearer with increased traction overconventional ice creepers, and to further increase the traction, theteeth 22 are extended outwardly at a slight outward inclination, asshown in Figure 3. In this Way, the teeth 22 will have an increasedtendency to dig into ice to prevent sideward movement of the shoe alongthe surface of ice.

Preferably, the teeth 22 are cut into the flange portion 16 a sufficientdistance so that the sole member 10 can flex with the flexing of thesole as the wearer walks. As the sole member lil flexes, the apexes ofthe teeth 22 spread further apart, thus tending to dislodge from theteeth 22 any accumulated ice or snow.

As shown in Figure 1, the heel member 12 is generally horseshoe-shapedand is of such a size as to rtit along the outer marginal portion of theheel of the shoe 15. The heel member 12 is provided with a generallyflat upper portion 24 which is of suflicient width to provide asufiicient bearing surface for the heel. As illustr'ated particularly inFigure 2, downwardly and outwardly extending flange portions 26, 28 and30 are provided respectively at the side edges and the rear edge of theheel member 12. The lower edges of the flange portions 26, 28 and 3d areserrated to provide a plurality of teeth 31 which grip ice. The outwardinclination of the flange portions 26, 28 and 30 permits the teeth 31 toflex slightly when subjected to the weight of the wearer. This tends toaid in the cleaning of the teeth 31 of any accumulated snow or ice. Ofcourse a continuous serrated flange portion may be provided along theentire outer edge of the heel member 12 without departing from theinvention. However, since the heel of a shoe is not flexible, the threeserrated flanges 26, 28 and 30 afford sufficient traction.

Means are provided to hold the heel member 12 and the sole member 10respectively against the heel and toe of the shoe. In the illustratedembodiment, the hoiding means includes an adjustable pair of toe straps32 and 34, the lower end of each of the toe straps 32 and 34 beingsuitably connected to the forward portion of the sole member 10 byrivets 36, or such. The upper end of one of the toe straps 32 isprovided with a buckle 38 which receives the upper end of the other toestrap 34.

The rear portion of the sole member 10 and the forward portion of theheel member 12 are connected together by a pair of generally A-shapedstraps 46, the lower ends of each being suitably connected to the solemember 10 and the heel member 12. The rear portion of the heel member 12is held against the heel of the shoe 15 by a heel strap 42 which issuitably connected to the rear portion of the heel member 12. The upperends of the A-shaped straps 40, the heel strap 42 and a rearwardextension 44 of the toe strap 32 are interconnected by an upper strap 46which is buckled at the instep of the shoe 15.

The ice creeper is easily attached to a shoe or boot by placing the icecreeper on a solid surface and inserting the toe of the shoe into thetoe straps 32 and 34 which have previously been adjusted to conform tothe size of the toe. The upper strap 46 is then buckled at the instep ofthe shoe. The other ice creeper is attached to the other shoe in asimilar manner. The wearer is thus capable of walking safely on ice orsnow.

Since the ice creeper extends along the complete marginal edge of theshoe, the ice creeper provides a relatively uniform, walking surface.Moreover, as the wearer walks with the ice creeper, the heel memberprevents the wearers shoe from slipping when only the heel is in contactwith ice, and the forward portion of the sole member grips the ice whenthe shoes toe is in contact with ice. As previously indicated, theflexing of the sole members tends to keep the teeth clear of snow andice.

While in the above described anti-slip device a heel and sole member 12and it) are provided, in certain applicaticns only a sole member may berequired. As shown in Figure 4, a sole member 48, which is of the sameconstruction as the sole member 10 described above, is attached to ashoe 59 by an adjustable pair of toe straps 52 and a strap 54 offlexible material. The toe straps 52 are suitably connected to the toePortion of the sole member 43, and the flexible strap 54 is suitablyconnected by each end to the rearward side portions of the sole member48. -The flexible strap 54 is made of sufficient length to fit about theheel of the shoe 50.

As can be seen from the above, the present invention provides aself-cleaning ice creeper which is comfortable to walk upon. Moreover,the wearer is afforded increased traction over previously available icecreepers-v The ice creeper is inexpensive and relatively simple tomanufacture since the sole member and heel member can be made in onepunching operation.

Various other changes and modifications may be made in the abovedescribed ice creeper without departing from the spirit or scope of thisinvention.

Various features of the invention are set forth in the accompanyingclaim.

I claim:

An anti-slip device adapted to be worn on the sole of a shoe comprisinga thin, flexible member curved so as to extend along the outer margin ofthe sole of the shoe, said member having a thin downwardly and outwardlyextending flange at its outer edge, the lower edge of said flange beingdeeply serrated so that the portion of the member adjacent the soleflexes with the flexing of the sole as the wearer Walks, and means forholding said member against the sole of the shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS756,560 Austin Apr. 5, 1904 987,054 Eves Mar. 14, 1911 1,592,571 Shullet al. July 13, 1926 2,399,638 Kalnitz May 7, 1946

